Yes, the production qualities are impressively high! The wizard duelling is very professionally done, you really feel as if these boys are fighting with everything they've got.

They definitely emphasized that duel, and it paid off. While the special effects were really good, the believable acting is what really makes that scene worthwhile.

I noticed the same producers followed a similar setup with their Dumbledore v. Grindelwald video "The Greater Good" (the Snape and the Marauders film led me to this one). Lots of neat visuals, but the acting was spot-on to make it all seem believable. I imagine that's a pretty tough thing to do when dealing with so many special effects.

But, overall, I'd agree with sirena: good visuals and overall well done, but the story is really just Snape-centric fan fiction that doesn't really jive with canon. Not that there's anything wrong with that, though!

But, overall, I'd agree with sirena: good visuals and overall well done, but the story is really just Snape-centric fan fiction that doesn't really jive with canon. Not that there's anything wrong with that, though!

I agree with this. It's clear that this movie was done by Snape fans who wanted to give his character the justice they feel he didn't get in the books. Not just the situation with Lily but also Snape defeating the Marauders single-handedly. It's very obvious that the creators didn't appreciate the OotP scene where James clearly shows Snape that "magic is might". Sort of makes Snape into a Gary-Stu. But I suppose one of the benefits of being a creator is that you can portray your favorite character as the awesomest of the awesome :P
I'd do the same.

... the story is really just Snape-centric fan fiction that doesn't really jive with canon.ot that there's anything wrong with that, though!

Indeed not.

The Greater Good is also excellent! Again, great acting, and showing what powerful wizards both Gellert and Albus were. Gellert was clearly another Voldemort in the making. (I have a minor quibble with Arianna's hairstyle and dress, which don't quite fit the period.)

Sereena - lol. But I think the makers of this film avoid the trap of portraying Snape as a Gary Stu because:

in his fury and pain he is actually prepared to unleash an AK on James. Holy moly. Although he is severely provoked, I can't possibly condone his willingness to murder James in that instant!

The Marauders' use of Fiendfyre is also really shocking ... although it works brilliantly in the film.

As for Severus being able to defeat the four, I can just about buy this for several reasons, and not because I want him to be a Gary Stu. Watch Peter's duelling: his magic seems feeble compared to the others; Remus seems to be doing quite a lot of defensive spells (mostly) - he's certainly not quite as full-on as James and Sirius. So Severus isn't facing four equal fighters here. Plus his white-hot anger is giving him extra energy. It's a real testament to the skill of the fan actors that they pull all of this off.

So yes, one defeating four is a stretch ... but then Canon Molly killing Canon Bellatrix is also a stretch. (IMO, Molly's white-hot fury also gives her an extra edge, and Bellatrix is perhaps complacent and fatally underestimates Mama Bear Weasley).

The film shows the intense brotherly bond between James and Sirius, and the kindness of James and Sirius to Remus, and it shows Peter as a three-dimensional character - hardly a flattering portrait, since we see his weakness of character and lack of moral backbone, but a convincing one. (As a Snape fan, I LOL'd at Peter being prepared to switch loyalties so quickly because he was so impressed with Sev''s magical abilities. But that's Peter all over.)

Oh, and Sirius is gorgeous. (And the guy who plays Severus is PERFECT. )

Initial impressions after the first 10 minutes--Also known as the ugly side of James. The side we all hoped exposure to Lily would cure after "The Incident." Yikes. I can definitely see his brat and show-off side from school here. I can also see his logic about Snape "going his own way"--but I would have thought that dating Lily for 18 months would have made him reconsider earlier than that. Also, shouldn't there be a ring burning a hole in his pocket here?

They were very new out of school when they married. I'm sort of surprised that Sirius isn't more the instigator here. His prank, his rules, and he and James tended to bring out the best and worst in each other. And this Pettigrew starts out seeming like early Neville more than the guy attracted to power and what it can do.

But all that is a matter of personal taste or interpretation. This is an excellent piece and well executed.

ETA after credits--Okay, so they did nail Peter (which is great...except an incident like this should have given Sirius fair warning what Wormtail was capable of. The confrontation shouldn't have been a shock, and a smart boy like Sirius should have had a contingency plan). Also, why would James accept Sirius' plan except as a balm to his self-confidence after seeing Peter as a turncoat that easily. It's a great characterization, but...it causes problems with canon. Still and all an excellent piece with a good combination of effort and effects.

Okay, I'm a Snape fan and agree that it's basically Snape-centered fanfic put on film (with great production values of course).

HOWEVER...

This Snape-centric fanfic oddly gave me a scenario that made the transformation of James from what we see in SWM to what we see in "Bathilda's Secret" potentially believable. I don't mean that I think this incident really happened canonically. I mean that seeing this incident gave me one potential scenario in which James' transformation could be believed. And that means, of course, that there could be other potential scenarios that would make his transformation believable.

The background to that comment, of course, is that I have never found James' transformation to be even remotely credible. And I have never given much credence to the argument that dating Lily could change him into such a completely different person. So, isn't it a bit ironic that it was a Snape-centered fanfic-short-film that helped me see that it might not be totally impossible for James to change that strikingly?

If canonical sequel books are someday written from the perspective of Draco Malfoy's children (or Albus befriends one and hears "the real story" about his famous father from them), how would we and he view school age Harry? What if the most detailed scene we had of him was Draco's recollection of having his insides ripped apart in that bathroom in sixth year? Wouldn't Harry look like a near power-mad monster to his son? And Harry would say...what if asked about that confrontation?? What if he weren't around (on a Ministry mission or sent to an early grave)?

I think part of the problem is that Snape and James bring out the absolute WORST in each other for one very compelling reason. James could be a great friend and confidante; he could be caring, even loving. And several wizarding prejudices endemic in "pureblood" society tended to roll off him. Remember, after he found out about Remus' condition--he didn't shun him or become scared of him. He spent most of a year figuring out how to help. Becoming Animagi gave Remus companionship on transformation nights, and even turned some of those nights into great adventures, bringing hope and fun and joy where there had been precious little but pain and isolation. I think the biggest problem with our understanding of James' transformation is that we see his greatest weaknesses in full relief often, but not his strengths. Our view of Severus evolved because we saw behind the curtain in fits and starts and new details changed what we knew and gave it greater context. For the most part, that didn't happen with James. We saw only his absolute worst moment at school.

The really weird part of all this is that Severus' longstanding relationship with Lily and potential attachment to her were not common knowledge. James sensed it and was jealous, and in his jealousy he resorted to his worst instincts to try to eliminate a rival and Severus reciprocated. But here we see the difference in their situation. When Severus burned the bridge with Lily, he had nothing but his own heartbreak, talent, and anger to keep him company/ So, he fueled all three of those things by hanging around people who would have to respect his talent, even if they didn't respect his Gringott's account or his bloodline and that pulled him ever deeper and closer to the abyss until the night the Prophecy was made, and he realized what might be about to happen. James had loving, if indulgent parents and two caring friends to lean on if things went badly. Severus had...well, nothing if he lost Lily.

While I applaud Snape's courage and revere him as an anti-hero, I think the greatest mistake in the books was not to include the best of James, because with Snape's sacrifice and personal tragedy, Harry is shown as a hero and a necessary one, but one who should not genetically exist because Lily should have been able to see through James' façade.

While I applaud Snape's courage and revere him as an anti-hero, I think the greatest mistake in the books was not to include the best of James, because with Snape's sacrifice and personal tragedy, Harry is shown as a hero and a necessary one, but one who should not genetically exist because Lily should have been able to see through James' façade.

I think the books do show enough of "the best of James" to make Harry's existence plausible. We see the moment of him playing with baby Harry on the broom, we see him rushing out to face Voldemort while Lily runs for Harry, and we meet his friends (Sirius, Lupin) who are good people, and realize what a good friend to them he was.

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